Devotional

Our minds are like a garden. We can cultivate our minds and plant the seeds we want to grow, or we can neglect it and allow the weeds to take over. Either way, it will bring a harvest into our lives. Galatians 6:7 declares a most important truth. Notice the Phillips translation, “A man’s harvest in life will depend entirely on what he sows.”

The way we perceive challenges is determined by the way we’ve been programmed. Seeds of slavery can remain in our thoughts and stifle our growth. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” The word “heart” in this verse is nearly always translated “soul” in other scriptures. This verse is saying that what a person really thinks deep within himself is what he becomes. Therefore, we must look beyond what is actually said and determine what is within the heart.

The way to affect our lives is to modify the way we think. As we begin to regard ourselves in a constructive, positive way based upon God’s Word, we release spiritual power in our lives through our souls. The realm of the soul is the connecting point between the spiritual realm and the physical realm. The mind, will, and emotions make up the soul.

When we renew our souls with God’s Word and thoughts, we see ourselves from an entirely new perspective. We will realize who we are in Christ. We are righteous because we are in Him, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. We are free from past mistakes. We are liberated from our weakness and filled to overflowing with His strength. These are but a few of the seeds of God’s great wealth within us. The more our thoughts are in agreement with the seeds God has planted, the greater the release into our lives.

We can remain a captive of our thoughts, or we can change by harmonizing our thoughts with God’s thoughts. In his powerful book titled Seeds of Greatness, Dr. Denis Waitley writes, “Our minds can’t tell the difference between real experience and one that is vividly and repeatedly imagined.”1

Understanding the power of our imagination is a key secret to releasing the power of God’s Word in our lives. When we begin to imagine ourselves as though His Word and promises are already working in us, the power of those promises is released and activated within us.

One man told how he had received a diagnosis of terminal cancer. He knew little about God, but when faced with death he began to evaluate his life and his relationship with God. He reasoned that if God was good, then God certainly wanted him healed. As he sat at home, he began to create mental pictures of massive armies of white blood cells gathering forces and then charging through his body to attack the cancer. He envisioned wave after wave of white blood cells surging though his body. Of course, this was all taking place in his imagination. Later, when he went for his treatments his doctors announced with some surprise, “You are in remission.” That declaration was made nineteen years ago at the time of this writing.

God’s power is released in us as we cooperate with Him and activate that power. Choose to cultivate your mind and plant the seeds you want to grow instead of allowing weeds to take over.

Excerpt from thePaperback Book

You Can Conquer Life's Conflicts

God is calling us to be a mighty, conquering people that will not quit in the face of conflict but rise up strong in the spirit of might and take the land that God has promised us. Just as Joshua, through his cou... read more